tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919066727422844292012-02-18T12:34:11.145+11:00Things of JoyJoynoreply@blogger.comBlogger244125things-of-joy/koCmhttp://feedburner.google.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-691906672742284429.post-10557009742470265052012-02-18T12:34:00.000+11:002012-02-18T12:34:11.171+11:002012-02-18T12:34:11.171+11:00Where's Jacob's ladder when you need it?Blue runner beans have finally taken off - and off - and off. These pics were taken last week - the plants have now doubled back on themselves, as Jacob's ladder wasn't available for support. Gorgeous purple beans (I know - they are called blue beans) are appearing at a great rate.
And for contrast, here's some corn.
Joynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-691906672742284429.post-22548145879439692252012-02-17T12:25:00.000+11:002012-02-18T12:25:59.914+11:002012-02-18T12:25:59.914+11:00Successful op-shoppingA favourite activity when time and location permits is browsing in op-shops. This, combined with the habit of gleaning (this morning it was three v good garden stakes from the kerbside) and saving things "because you never know" ... means that there are always intriguing objects lying around to annoy others. Most things do get used - even if it takes 20 years!
Today the Salvos rendered up:
- Joynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-691906672742284429.post-77998569596524899572012-02-13T14:45:00.002+11:002012-02-13T14:46:44.798+11:002012-02-13T14:46:44.798+11:00Glowing garden
The cycle of life ..
.
If only you could smell the glorious fragrance of this rose ...
As flowers age the variation in color is always intriguing.
This backhousia citriodora lived many years in a tiny pot. The plant's feeling of excitement at having a new wide world to explore was quite tangible, and when you wander past that sensation still vibrates.
Joynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-691906672742284429.post-63699698541126212542012-02-07T09:29:00.003+11:002012-02-07T09:29:34.581+11:002012-02-07T09:29:34.581+11:00New produce on the way
The zucchini are all weighing in around 1.9kg - seems I never get to the Z patch in time to collect "normal" sized fruit.
In comparison, the first of the lebanese eggplant have started fruiting. Cute and deep deep purple.
Something is wrong with one of the Apollo tomatoes.
The upper stems and flower buds look as though they are on steroids and the new leaves are tiny and pink. Joynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-691906672742284429.post-41326765292283388002012-02-01T11:39:00.002+11:002012-02-07T09:29:54.642+11:002012-02-07T09:29:54.642+11:00Things seen around
A rabbit racing around the yard = bad news.
A rather startled owl hammering on the window.
These immense blueberries - so late in the season. And yummy as well.
Joynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-691906672742284429.post-83366060750027078332012-01-31T21:32:00.000+11:002012-01-31T21:32:16.137+11:002012-01-31T21:32:16.137+11:00FecundNever never plant more than one zucchini plant unless you have friends without this amazing veg or you are addicted to HUGE quantities of same. This one stem on one plant has 11 fruit in various stages of growth. And we have SIX plants!!! Problem is - all the neighbours have zucchinis growing! We are all trying to offload our produce on each other - success only comes when unsuspecting townies Joynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-691906672742284429.post-66293781329275175582012-01-30T11:07:00.002+11:002012-01-30T11:07:47.126+11:002012-01-30T11:07:47.126+11:00What an amazing weekThe temperature has been over 30C for the past few days, farmgate sales of blueberries have been overwhelming and we've run out of supplies. Today the weather is beautifully mild - but very wet as it has rained for the past 12 hours. So we can't pick to replenish stock - hopefully no-one turns up at the farmgate!
Discovered this gorgeous gladiolus in the pump flower bed - no idea where it cameJoynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-691906672742284429.post-32664516599336235352012-01-22T18:38:00.000+11:002012-01-21T18:39:41.093+11:002012-01-21T18:39:41.093+11:00Today's beauties
This is a handful of pure bliss - our first real crop of mulberries. The flavour just explodes in your mouth. Sorry Ms Artifice - these and your silk will never meet!
These are huonville crab apples - they are large for crab apples, and have the most divine bright pink flesh.
Slight aberration in the blueberry patch - they are so sweet and, dare I say it, "lolly - like".Joynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-691906672742284429.post-72169336598342386052012-01-21T12:57:00.000+11:002012-01-21T12:57:00.345+11:002012-01-21T12:57:00.345+11:00To the south-westMorning tea time
Morning tea time
Everyone else is black. What happened here?
Obviously the spuds on the right were planted first.
Over the hill and far away
Small hill, rusted tank ...
Joynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-691906672742284429.post-62299625779857918932012-01-20T12:39:00.002+11:002012-01-21T18:27:47.279+11:002012-01-21T18:27:47.279+11:00Blueberry facts
Here's the promised blueberry picking lesson.
Blueberries (genus Vaccinium) grow in bunches - each comprising from half a dozen berries to over 80 berries (I know - I counted a huge bunch the other day and gave up when I reached 79 - there were still about 20 unripe berries remaining).
Blueberries do not ripen after they have been picked. And the berries on each bunch do not ripen at the Joynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-691906672742284429.post-14881069839219299232012-01-19T13:08:00.000+11:002012-01-19T13:08:14.063+11:002012-01-19T13:08:14.063+11:00The neighboursThe other night we had quite a bit of rain, so were unable to pick blueberries until the sun dried them out. A walk around the neighbourhood was in order.
These three we'd met a week or so before.
L-R brown alpaca, black alpaca, sheep
As soon as you approach the fence the two alpacas and the sheep (the one they are guarding??) race to greet you. Last time both alpacas demanded food (none) Joynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-691906672742284429.post-34126185943913246772012-01-10T16:24:00.000+11:002012-01-10T16:24:51.947+11:002012-01-10T16:24:51.947+11:00Wolf spiderWas going to post on blueberry picking, but when I threw wheelbarrow loads of chestnut catkins onto the compost heap I found an amazing creature - it was all "furry", and when it jumped to the ground what seemed like hundreds of tiny spiders scattered everywhere. That made it easy to identify - it was a wolf spider! Poisonous but not lethal - to humans that is.
Catkins from there, to here ...
Joynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-691906672742284429.post-57902570495155431042012-01-08T21:16:00.003+11:002012-01-08T21:20:13.450+11:002012-01-08T21:20:13.450+11:00Somewhere in there you will find ...
zucchini
purple beans
and one of these weighs 5kg (hint: it's the one on the right!) - 5kg of red cabbage.
Country joke:
Why do people in the country lock their cars in summer?
To stop other people storing zucchini in their car.Joynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-691906672742284429.post-90823864305894785312012-01-02T14:55:00.002+11:002012-01-02T14:55:59.397+11:002012-01-02T14:55:59.397+11:00Hot hot hotSoooo hot.
We've gone from kilos of strawberries a day to five or six a day.
And the blueberry crop has gone from half a dozen berries to tens of kilos a day. Wouldn't be so much of a problem if the weather weren't so hot. The flip side of course is more heat = more sugar = even more delicious blueberries. And as that is just what we want, we can't complain about the weather.
We believe Joynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-691906672742284429.post-62509801141260608352011-12-24T10:46:00.003+11:002011-12-24T10:47:57.615+11:002011-12-24T10:47:57.615+11:00The most delicious mayonnaiseSuccess! The olive oil had way too much character - peanut oil is the perfect hidden secret.
Sort of recipe:
1 egg yolk
pinch of salt
grind of pepper
teaspoon of mustard (your preference)
peanut or sunflower oil (or olive oil if you'd rather - but make sure it is so light you can scarcely taste it)
Wack in the processor and pulse for a few seconds
Keeping the processor running, drizzle oil Joynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-691906672742284429.post-36615427089527173972011-12-23T11:10:00.001+11:002011-12-23T11:25:26.336+11:002011-12-23T11:25:26.336+11:00Stealing from anotherI enjoy reading Hector Garcia's tales of a Spaniard in Japan http://www.kirainet.com/english/. Have got a little behind with reading my favorite blogs and have just caught up with this entry - the story of the annual selection of the one kanji character that represents the society's sentiment about the past year. The most voted character this year has been "kizuna" 絆 (きずな) which means bonds - Joynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-691906672742284429.post-40253632300430689412011-12-22T12:29:00.003+11:002011-12-22T12:36:26.530+11:002011-12-22T12:36:26.530+11:00The path of discoveryHave just made - for the first time - mayonnaise, in a food processor. Process fabulous - quick and easy. End product? Looks great, but not so fabulous on the palate. Used a mix of olive oil and vegetable oil, but obviously the olive oil was too strong. Mayo bitter on the tongue - wonder if a little sugar might ameliorate it? Next time the olive oil will have a minor or non-existent presence.Joynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-691906672742284429.post-11759856789362689692011-12-20T11:42:00.001+11:002011-12-20T11:42:13.639+11:002011-12-20T11:42:13.639+11:00Started picking!Blueberry picking started this morning - over a week earlier than last year! Orders are pouring in, so we're looking on the sungods to do the right thing and keep the heat up to load the fruit with sugar.
Joynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-691906672742284429.post-61925215069921476582011-12-13T15:19:00.001+11:002011-12-13T15:19:24.679+11:002011-12-13T15:19:24.679+11:00Lost in paradiseYesterday we were fortunate to be invited to cruise around a friend's friend's garden in the lower alpine slopes. Endless recommendations were shared but unfortunately no pen and paper to hand meant that valuable knowledge disappeared into the ether.
One of many veg beds
Gleditsia - the only plant name we remembered of these photos!
Amazing conifer - small leaves; grows into Joynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-691906672742284429.post-68997624585195110772011-12-10T13:50:00.001+11:002011-12-10T13:51:51.357+11:002011-12-10T13:51:51.357+11:00The things you doTomorrow we are bbq-ing snags for a fund-raiser. Five hundred of these wretched things can be found in this vegetarian's fridge. The things we do!
Joynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-691906672742284429.post-86669269035357454632011-12-05T17:15:00.001+11:002011-12-05T17:18:35.133+11:002011-12-05T17:18:35.133+11:00Colors of the dayThis huge and amazing - and slightly bedraggled - moth has been hanging (?) from the gate for some days - then it mysteriously disappeared. Great camouflage.
Luminous delicious peas for the picking - and we are! Masses of them.
Joynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-691906672742284429.post-53786531107117731422011-11-27T17:13:00.000+11:002011-12-05T17:14:49.580+11:002011-12-05T17:14:49.580+11:00Only in Australia?Found this in the supermarket - heavily marked down so obviously not a good seller. But I succumbed being a vegemite addict.
Joynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-691906672742284429.post-61572699826972687112011-11-26T17:07:00.001+11:002011-11-26T17:16:19.218+11:002011-11-26T17:16:19.218+11:00Borrowing from another bloggerCame across this while catching up with news on Rochelle Greayer's studioblog.
To quote from the youtube site:
Coldplay's haunting classic 'The Scientist' is performed by country
music legend Willie Nelson for the soundtrack of the short film
entitled, "Back to the Start." Download the song now available on
iTunes. Label and proceeds benefit The Chipotle Cultivate Foundation. http://Joynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-691906672742284429.post-18367102584404093832011-11-23T15:01:00.001+11:002011-11-23T15:06:30.218+11:002011-11-23T15:06:30.218+11:00Glorious natureHaving complained about how green the property is, I have to recant and show some glorious color. I am always amazed at how these colors all seem to glow at the highest intensity.
For the past seven years or so I've longed for this poppy to grow in the garden (or anywhere for that matter) - seeds were given me by a neighbour. No sign of this poppy, just acres of the other - and Joynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-691906672742284429.post-51369223089325709602011-11-19T13:41:00.001+11:002011-11-19T13:45:46.677+11:002011-11-19T13:45:46.677+11:00This week
I organised a garden party for about 250 people. Huge fun, great night - we were celebrating the 150th anniversary of the opening of the St Kilda Botanical Gardens (pics etc on the blog).
Found out about participatory budgeting - love the concept.
Read about Something I Ate - A seasonal gastronomic event celebrates delicious art and beautiful food.
Took lots of pics at the farm - Joynoreply@blogger.com0